Fears that the credit crisis could deepen rattled global stock investors on Friday and boosted demand for traditionally less risky assets.
U.S. President George W. Bush and new Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda will try on Friday to smooth over relations that are looking rockier than usual between Washington and its closest Asian ally.
U.S. firm American International Group will list an office REIT in Japan this year, the Nikkei business daily said on Thursday, a move analysts welcomed while questioning its timing amid the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis.
Asia is still about growth and investment strategies focused on this theme will continue to deliver robust returns for stock investors next year, JPMorgan said on Thursday.
Southeast Asian nations plan to sign a charter in Singapore next week aiming for lofty goals in areas such as free trade and human rights even as the 40-year-old group wrestles with how to handle the divisive issue of Myanmar. The West has urged the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) to put more pressure on Myanmar's junta after its crackdown on pro-democracy protests, but the group's principle of non-interference in each other's internal affairs is likely to prevail.
While Asahi Green does not expect to break even until 2011, it hopes the Japanese technology will help farmers improve efficiency, food safety and income as well as repair soil damaged by years of heavy chemicals use.
Sony Corp. and Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors said on Wednesday they will set up a joint venture to promote the use of mobile phones as a virtual wallet for paying for store purchases and train tickets.
Mizuho Financial Group Inc, Japan's second-largest bank, posted a 17 percent drop in its first-half profit and cut its full-year forecast on Wednesday, after the subprime-market turmoil sparked losses at its brokerage unit and increased credit costs.
The dollar fell against most major currencies on Tuesday, resuming a long-term decline after a respite the previous session as investors expected further signs of housing weakness and sluggish consumer spending that could hurt U.S. economic growth.
The parent of Alibaba.com Inc and Japan's Softbank Corp are in talks to set up a Japanese joint venture possibly next year that will boost the Chinese e-commerce company's footprint in that market, Softbank's top executive said on Tuesday.
NTT DoCoMo Inc, Japan's biggest mobile phone operator, expects to bid at least US$1 billion for a stake in Vietnam's No.2 mobile phone carrier and is eyeing investments in other Asian countries, an executive said.
Yahoo Inc has struck new deals to offer mobile phone Web services through nine network operators across Asia, bolstering its increasing lead in the fastest growing regional market for mobile services by users.
Nervous investors sold stocks and generally deserted the dollar on Tuesday, still gripped by lingering worries over the global financial impact of the slumping U.S. housing market.
A Tokyo court rejected UK asset manager Silchester International Investors' request to block a bond issue by auto goods retailer Autobacs Seven in the latest rebuff of shareholder activists in Japan.
Crew members aboard the International Space Station on Monday used a robotic crane to reposition the space shuttle's docking port, a key step toward preparing the complex for the arrival of Europe's science laboratory next month.
Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS), the No.2 U.S. entertainment company, plans to launch mobile phone services in Japan early next year to become the newest entrant in an ultra-competitive market.
Asian stocks sank on Monday with Tokyo's Nikkei hitting its lowest level in about 15 months as investors dumped Japanese exporters on the back of a surge in the yen to an 18-month high versus the dollar.
Japanese stocks ended at a nearly three-month closing low on Friday after a wave of late selling on a report that Mizuho Securities, the unlisted brokerage arm of Mizuho Financial Group, may post a subprime-related loss of over 100 billion yen and delay a merger.
Japan's Health Ministry, eager to trim swelling health-care costs, proposed changes to prescription forms on Friday in a bid to boost the use of cheaper generic drugs, sending shares in the nation's generic drug makers soaring.
The U.S. trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly in September to its lowest since May 2005 as exports set a record, according to U.S. Commerce Department data on Friday.
Japan's Canon Inc won a patent lawsuit against a recycled ink cartridge supplier as the Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed an appeal against a lower court decision in favour of the camera and office gear maker.
Japanese investors held onto their cash instead of piling more into investment trusts in October, data showed on Thursday, a sign that the U.S. mortgage mess and ensuing market turmoil may be hurting their appetite for risk.
